Improvement in horseshoes



E; L. nown.

Horseshoe. i

No. 168,369, Patented 001.11815.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD Il. BROWN, OF PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN HORSESHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 168,369, dated October 5, 1875; application filed July 17, 1875.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. BROWN, of Plainfield. in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain Iinprovements in Horseshoes, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to that class of horseshoes designed to contain a more or less elastic lling held in a recess in its under surface, to receive the jar incident to the blow given by the foot of the horse upon the pavement or other hard or unyielding surface, and to give to the animal a rm and reliable footing upon smooth surfaces.

Said invention consists in the formation of the metallic shoe, with its anges for holding the elastic material, as aforesaid, extending out to the outer boundary of the shoe, and having indentations or recesses therein for the introduction of the nails for fastening the shoe to the foot, as hereinafter described, by which construction the full and proper breadth ofthe tread ofthe shoe is retained, and at the same time the proper facilities for safely and securely attaching the shoe to the foot are secured, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure lis an under-side view of a shoe constructed according to my invention, and ready for the introduction of the elastic material hereinbefore mentioned. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the shoe, showing the parts toward the. top of the page from the line xm in Fig. l.

A is the top of the shoe, which is shaped to lit the foot of a horse, and of the general form adapted for that purpose. B is a dan ge, which exten-ds entirely around the outer and inner edges and ends ofthe plateA, to receive and retain the elastic filling, as already stated, be-v VAt the points where nails are required this flange B is curved or indented inward, as shown at ce, to give places or pockets where the nails may be driven outside of the said flange without diminishing the breadth of the tread of the shoe, and also to protect the head of the nail from being bent, so as to injure the opposite leg of the horse or do other damagesuch, for example, as straining or breaking the nail itself, and thereby loosening the shoe.

l) b are the nail-holes through which the nails l are driven into the hoof. These nail-holes are slightly inclined inwardly and upwardly, as shown, so as to give the nails the proper direction at their entrance into the hoof; and the lower portions of these nail-holes are flared, as shown in the drawings, to give a recess into which a portion of the head of the nail may be driven, and where it is supported, thus adding to the security which is aiforded to these nail-heads in the recesses at a by the iangeB, which nearly surrounds them. These indentatious at a in the outer flange ot' the shoe also have the advantage that, by giving a somewhat broken edge to this llange, they increase and improve the hold of the horse upon any of the surfaces ou which he usually travels. In setting the shoe, the nails are inserted and driven down even with the ange B, in the usual manner, with the hammer, and then driven home with a nail, set so as to sink their heads as much as practicable into the daring portion of the nail-holes; and this construction thus enables the nails to be guided properly, and with all possible certainty, into the hoof, and to be driven home with reasonable convenience. 'Ihe usual clips, common on the upper surface of hors'eshoes, may extend from the upper surface of this shoe, and form a part of it, as shown at c in Fig. 2. The shoes I have described may be made of any proper or suitable metal, steel being perhaps the best, and, when constructed as I have described, are ready to receive the elastic filling, which may be of any compound Ysuitable for that purpose, of which compound vulcanized india-rubber will probably' generally form a large component part, though various fillings may be used, according to the choice of the manufacturers or the demands of the public, it being generally desirable that it should be inserted into the shoe in a state which will insure its adhesion to the metal,

and then afterward vulcanized or hardened by setting the entire outer ilange inside of theline voi' the nails, and on the other the serious objections Whioh'apply to the driving of the nails through the elastic material, amongf which objections may be'mentioned the uncertaintyof the direction of the nail, the unsatisfactory nature of the bearing thus afforded to the head of the nail, and the eloignment thus involved of' head of the nail from the point subjected to the Aprincipal strain.

I claim as my invention- A horseshoe constructed with vertical ilanges, forming an annular space, to be filled with elastic material, on its under side7 and having its outer vertical flange extended to and made the full size of the outer boundary of the shoe, except at the nail-holes7 Where it is carried inside of', and partly around, said nail-holes, to admit the nails outside of said flange, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

EDWD. L. BROWN. Witnesses:

WM. C. HioKs, H. H. WIL'soN. 

